Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4W-17022

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 24 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many serving police officers there are, broken down by (a) division and (b) local authority area.

Question reference: S4W-17024

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the most recent Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics Scotland does not provide a regional breakdown of the number of serving officers; who decided not to provide this, and whether this information will be included in the next edition.

The Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics Scotland publication is used to report the Government’s on-going commitment to provide 1,000 additional police officers nationally. Prior to 1 April 2013, data were collected from each of the legacy forces and that breakdown published. Since 1 April 2013 data are collected from a national police service which employs all police officers and the national figure will be reported in future Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics Scotland publications.

The deployment of police officers is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland. Police Scotland is currently completing work to standardise data and HR systems across the former eight forces. Although this means that a further geographical breakdown of police officers is not available at this time, Police Scotland is currently developing this.

Question reference: S4W-16977

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 18 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many people live in overcrowded dwellings in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire.

Question reference: S4W-16978

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 18 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made in addressing the availability of affordable housing in rural areas.

We are investing over £970 million in affordable housing over the three year period to March 2015. The introduction last year of a three year resource planning approach to March 2015, will enable councils to exercise their strategic role more flexibly, which includes the provision of affordable housing in rural areas. We have recognised the challenges associated with developing in rural locations by providing higher subsidy levels to allow registered social landlords to develop in some of our most remote and rural areas. In addition to this we continue to work with stakeholders in the development of innovative funding partnerships and where possible will provide targeted investment to tackle the provision of affordable housing in rural areas.

Question reference: S4W-16976

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 18 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the cost of private rented accommodation in Aberdeen.

Question reference: S4W-16979

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 13 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) drink and (b) dangerous driving convictions there have been in the Grampian region in each of the last five years.

Statistics relating to persons convicted for drink/drug driving and dangerous driving in the Grampian police force area, in each of the last five years, are available in table 4a of the additional data to the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2011-12 statistical bulletin. This is available via the following web link:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/Datasets/DatasetsCrimProc/procpfa1112

Question reference: S4W-16981

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 13 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) academic, (b) non-academic managerial and (c) other non-academic staff were employed in each (i) college and (ii) university in (A) Aberdeen and (B) Aberdeenshire in each of the last five years.

Information on number of staff employed in colleges is held by the Scottish Funding Council. For colleges the latest information available is for 2010-11. It is not possible to provide the staff breakdown requested. Table 1 and 2 contains a headcount and full time equivalent information for, teaching and non-teaching staff at Aberdeen and Banff and Buchan College.

Table 1: Aberdeen College: headcount and full-time equivalent staff employed by staff group

	Staff Group	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Headcount	Teaching	551	561	581	524	487
Headcount	Non-Teaching	428	409	360	369	309
Full-time equivalents	Teaching	251	249	256	246	244
Full-time equivalents	Non-Teaching	320	320	274	275	246

Source: Scottish Funding Council

Table 2: Banff and Buchan College: headcount and full-time equivalent staff employed by staff group

	Staff Group	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Headcount	Teaching	271	262	274	288	271
Headcount	Non-Teaching	187	186	171	133	131
Full-time equivalents	Teaching	134	145	150	157	152
Full-time equivalents	Non-Teaching	102	109	90	86	86

Source: Scottish Funding Council

For universities the number of academic and non-academic staff is published on Higher Education Statistics Agency web site. It is not possible to provide the staff breakdowns you requested:

http://www.hesa.ac.uk/component/option,com_datatables/Itemid,121/task,show_category/catdex,2/#inst_level_staff

Question reference: S4W-16975

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase awareness of men's health issues, and what specific programmes there are in (a) Aberdeen and (b) NHS Grampian.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of raising awareness of health issues amongst men and is committed to providing the best possible advice and support through NHS Scotland.

Through the Keep Well programme men and women aged 40-64 living in the most deprived areas of Scotland are offered a free health check. Through the check awareness is raised on the prevention and treatment of conditions such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol. The check presents an opportunity for people to be referred onto support services such as smoking cessation and weight management classes. Over 180,000 Keep Well health checks have been delivered across Scotland so far (between March 2009 and end June 2012).

It is up to each individual NHS board to provide tailored services to meet the needs of their local population. NHS Grampian offer programmes of work such as Detect Cancer Early and the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening programme which help to tackle health issues amongst men. A weekly sexual health and HIV medicine clinic for males only is run to encourage easier access to services. In Aberdeenshire, health and wellbeing is the key focus of the Mensheds programme across the region.

Question reference: S4O-02408

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what recent progress it has made in taking forward the business rates incentivisation scheme.

Question reference: S4W-16677

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its publication, Scottish Parliament By-Election, Aberdeen Donside, 20 June 2013: Guidance on conduct for Scottish Government civil servants, which referred to “the period of sensitivity preceding Scottish Government by-elections", for what reason the First Minister's letter to the Chief Executive of Aberdeen City Council dated 6 August 2013 stated that "there is no such thing as a 'purdah' rule for by-elections.”

When the Scottish Parliament is dissolved in the lead-up to general elections there is a recognised pre-election period (commonly referred to as ‘purdah’) when restrictions on the conduct of government business apply. In by-elections, the Parliament is not dissolved. Accordingly, the First Minister’s reference to the absence of “a ‘purdah’ rule for by-elections” explains that normal government business continues during the lead-up to such by-elections, subject to consideration of its impact in the constituency where the by-election is occurring.

The First Minister also makes clear in his letter that the Guidance on conduct for Scottish Government civil servants, published on 21 May 2013 at the start of the period of sensitivity, states that “the business of the Scottish Government continues, and national (i.e. Scotland-wide) announcements and events, including regional announcements and events, should continue as normal,” during a by-election campaign.

A copy of the Scottish Government’s guidance is available at:

www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Elections/guidance/ElectionsGuidanceCS.